PRESS DIGEST- Canada - Dec 18

Dec 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd Director Bill Ackman says the plunge in oil prices that has hit the Calgary-based company's share price will dampen growth at the company. Canadian Pacific has not altered its revenue guidance as oil has plunged 43 percent since Aug. 1, raising fears energy producers will slash production and cut rail shipments. (bit.ly/13BwXt4)

** Canadian businesses are beginning to calculate the fallout from the U.S. move to open up relations with Cuba, which could eventually generate opportunities for some and increased competition for others. While the moves by U.S. President Barack Obama to ease economic, travel and diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba are small steps and fall far short of an end to a decades-old trade embargo, they could lead to a broader opening up of relations. (bit.ly/1xs6v1z)

** Alberta's political lines were redrawn on Wednesday as the head of the Official Opposition led the bulk of her Wildrose Party into the Progressive Conservative establishment she spent the past five years attacking on a daily basis. The mass defection of nine of 14 members of legislative assembly effectively ends the Wildrose as a political force in Alberta and is a resounding victory for Premier Jim Prentice. (bit.ly/1DQ7yM0)

NATIONAL POST

** The diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Cuba changes very little for Sherritt International Corp and the dozens of other Canadian companies active in Cuba. But a potential lifting of the U.S. embargo would have a transformative impact on them. (bit.ly/1wHt804)

** Rogers Communications Inc has filed an application to block its rival, BCE Inc, from buying wireless phone retailer Glentel Inc in a previously announced deal valued at C$670 million ($578 million) in stock, cash and debt. (bit.ly/1GuzByE)

** Stuck with massive liabilities and no way to grow production in its core area, Niko Resources Ltd, once an investor-darling with shares trading in triple digits, has put itself up for sale. Niko has posted quarter after quarter of net losses partly as a result of the Indian government's control of the country's natural gas prices and partly due to its liabilities in Indonesia and Trinidad. (bit.ly/1w1Mg43) ($1 = C$1.16) (Compiled by Zara Mascarenhas in Bengaluru)